The present disclosure is directed toward the management of the terminal profile of a mobile communication device. The terminal profile for a mobile communication device defines the operations, if any, which the mobile communication device is capable of executing or authorized to execute. According to certain wireless system protocols, the terminal profile is provided to a subscriber identification module when the module is being initialized. Using the terminal profile as a guide, the subscriber identification module can avoid sending the mobile communication device an instruction which it is unable or unauthorized to execute.